Thanks to a clever use of existing procedures, the European Union Delegation to Burkina Faso working in partnership with the government, successfully managed a seamless transition from an emergency intervention by the Commission’s humanitarian body, ECHO, to offering long-term support to more than 100,000 flood victims.

All too often, the countries in Africa that nature has endowed with the most economically valuable resources have also struggled with devastating instability and conflict: A paradox that the African Union and European Commission wish to see ended though strong emphasis on democratic accountability and capacity development.